An enterprise might use a substantial number of computers to process data. In the financial area, by way of example, overnight risk reports, daily volatility information, and Current Value Assessment (CVA) and intra-day risk calculations might be performed using a hundreds of high-performance Personal Computers (PCs).
The use of such computers, however, can be expensive. For example, in some cases enterprise-class computers are used because they are more reliable than standard, commodity computers. Since enterprise-class computers use special components to achieve greater reliability (e.g., power supplies and hard disk drives), the costs associated with these computers is substantially increased.
Moreover, expensive Information Technology (IT) employees, such as system administrators, are required to create, update, and fix computers. For example, one system administrator might be required for every one hundred computers. An enterprise that uses thousands of computers would therefore need a significant number of IT employees.
In addition, an enterprise might be located in an expensive location. The headquarters of a financial enterprise, for example, might be located in a downtown office building so that traders and other employees can be near financial markets and similar institutions. Thus, the per-square-foot rent and electrical costs associated with housing and powering thousands of computers can be significantly more expensive as compared to other locations.